Top 10 Steps to Donating Your Coaching Services

Written by admin on Thursday, February 26th, 2009

This article is great for those who want to promote their coaching services to get more exposure for their business by donating their services. This gives you great information on how to set this up for yourself and what support materials you should create for this venture.

Donating coaching services is a great way for new and
established coaches, alike, to gain new clients. It’s also a
wonderful way to contribute support to charitable and other
organizations which support communities, locally and globally.
It is important that we all contribute something back to our
community and donating a coaching package is the perfect way.
Your donation may be entered in a silent auction, raffled off,
or even awarded as a door prize. It’s a win-win situation for
everyone; you’ll be able to do what you love - coach - and at
the same time, help raise money for a cause that you believe in.

1. Determine what services you are willing to donate.

Consider donating a one-month coaching package. Be certain that
you are very clear on exactly what that package will comprise,
including any client intake material you might need to send.
Also determine how many sessions you can offer and how long each
will be. You will need to provide all of this information in the
package that you submit to the sponsoring organization. Finally,
make sure that you have the time in your schedule and the
business stability to provide these services, as they will not
be contributing revenue towards your business.

2. Determine which charities or organizations you might like to
support.

Make a list of fifteen or twenty organizations to which you
would consider donating your services. These might include
hospitals, private schools, organizations which support a
particular health issue, as well as groups that support animal
rights or the environment.

3. Gather detailed information about each organization.

Research and read about each organization you might wish to
support. Make a detailed list or database where you can record
the organization’s name, address, telephone number, website, and
the name of the main contact person. Call each organization and
ask when they schedule their fundraisers and if they will accept
a donation from you. It is good idea to have this information
because you will need to plan in advance to make sure you don’t
miss any potential opportunities. Fundraisers are scheduled
throughout the year. Also, many organizations have required
paperwork to be completed and returned along with the item you
are donating, so it is a good idea to find this out in advance.

4. Select the organizations you wish to support.

Once you have a list, determine how many donations you can
afford both from both a financial and time standpoint. Don’t
over schedule or over burden yourself by making too many
donations. For most coaches, making one to two donations per
year would be doable and affordable.

5. Create a gift certificate.

Use a package like Microsoft Publisher or even a word processing
program to develop a certificate that is either 8 Ω X 11 inches
or 4 Ω X 11 inches. Print the gift certificate on heavy bond
paper and laminate it.

6. Include important information on your gift certificate.

Make sure that you include your company name, logo, and contact
information at a minimum, on the front of the certificate.
Include a statement that the certificate is “Not Redeemable for
Cash.” Finally, make sure to add an expiration date. Most
organizations expect that you will have an expiration date at
least one year from the date of the fundraising event. You may
also choose to include other identifying information like your
name, website, and telephone number.

7. Create an information package to accompany the gift
certificate.

Create two information packages. One package is for the
organization to keep for their records. They need this
information, along with your signed contract, for tax and
recordkeeping purposes. The other package is for them to give to
the gift certificate recipient. You may want to enclose this in
a sealed envelope. Each package should include your business
card, some information about coaching, as well as how to redeem
the gift certificate.

8. Maintain a log and detailed records of your donations.

Keep good records. For each donation that you make, record the
name of the organization, the contact person, the event date,
how the service will be used (silent auction, raffle, door
prize), and the expiration date recorded on the gift
certificate. You might want to create a separate file folder for
each organization so you can maintain copies of any email
correspondence, thank you letters, a copy of the contract, as
well as a copy of what you sent to the organization. Later on
when the gift certificate recipient contacts you, you can use
this file as a “client file”.

9. Wait patiently for the recipient to contact you.

Not everyone who bids on or receives your package will follow up
on it. Sometimes people bid on things with the best of
intentions, but they get busy or forget about it. Don’t be
discouraged; instead, be happy that you contributed to something
that your believe in and that the organization benefited in some
way.

10. A client is a client is a client.

Once the gift certificate recipient contacts you, make sure that
you treat them exactly as you would any paying client. Not only
are you representing yourself and your business, but you are
also, indirectly, representing the organization to which you
made the donation. Enjoy the experience, have fun, and most of
all know that you, the recipient, and the organization are
benefiting from this donation.

Tara Alexandra Kachaturoff is an executive coach, trainer,
consultant and professional speaker with over 15 years of
corporate experience. She coaches executives, professionals, and
entrepreneurs on leadership, business and lifestyle issues and
has been featured in radio, print, and television. She is the
owner of CoachPoint, www.virtualleverage.com, and
www.relationshipplanning.com.